QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Madisonville, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Madisonville in the 24 hours to 5:10 pm EST (22:10 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 14 km (8 mi) NNE, at 6:50 am EDT on 12 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Madisonville

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) southeast of Madisonville, TN, at 8:48 am EST on 6 February 2025 (13:48 UTC), 15 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9 km NNE of Tellico Plains, Tennessee

65 km (41 mi) SSW of Knoxville, TN

8:48 am EST, Feb 6, 2025 · · 15 km deep · released about 19 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monroe County 1 kmLoudon County 34 kmMcMinn County 34 kmCherokee County 37 kmGraham County 39 kmBlount County 41 kmPolk County 45 kmRoane County 52 kmMeigs County 52 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
8:48 am EST on 6 February 2025 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) southeast of Madisonville, TN · earthquakes near Madisonville
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Monroe County, 1 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 580 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Madisonville, 14 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Vonore, Greenback, Sweetwater, Tellico Village, Etowah.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 790,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 560,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 50× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2018-12-12 — about 6,200 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 35.4367, -84.2475. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monroe County, TN 1 km (1 mi) N earthquakes near Monroe County
Loudon County, TN 34 km (21 mi) N earthquakes near Loudon County
McMinn County, TN 34 km (21 mi) W earthquakes near McMinn County
Cherokee County, NC 37 km (23 mi) SSE earthquakes near Cherokee County
Graham County, NC 39 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Graham County
Blount County, TN 41 km (25 mi) NE earthquakes near Blount County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.1 5 km S of Sweetwater, Tennessee
  2. 2.2 2 km SSW of Greenback, Tennessee
  3. 1.8 13 km SSE of Greenback, Tennessee
  4. 1.8 4 km E of Madisonville, Tennessee
  5. 2.5 5 km E of Madisonville, Tennessee
  6. 2.0 5 km NNW of Vonore, Tennessee
  7. 2.2 10 km WNW of Philadelphia, Tennessee
  8. 2.2 13 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee
  9. 2.0 14 km SE of Etowah, Tennessee
  10. 1.9 7 km ENE of Etowah, Tennessee
  11. 1.9 7 km ENE of Etowah, Tennessee
  12. 1.9 5 km SSW of Riceville, Tennessee
  13. 2.0 21 km SE of Greenback, Tennessee
  14. 1.8 2 km WNW of Maryville, Tennessee
  15. 1.6 5 km WSW of Friendsville, Tennessee

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.